Okay.

All right.

Uh, the Ben City Council will now meet an executive session pursuant to RS one nine two, six, six, zero, two, e to conduct deliberations with persons designated to negotiate real property transactions.

Representatives of the news media and designated staff shall be allowed to attend the executive session.

Representative of the news media are specifically directed not to report on any of the deliberations during the executive session except to state the general subject of the session as previously announced.

And immediately following the city council executive session, the Bend Urban Renewal Agency will meet an executive session pursuant to ORS one nine two point six six zero two to conduct deliberations with persons designated to negotiate real property transactions.

No decision may be made in executive session at the end of the executive session.

Go ahead.

All right.

We will call to order this meeting of the Benn City Council.

Please silence your cell phones.

I heard that's my alarm in the morning.

I'm getting freaked out.

I swear I'm awake.

Someone's okay.

All right.

Now we're ready to do our roll call.

Thank you.

Um, so start on your end, Counselor Platt.

Steve Bloody.

Megan Norris, she her.

Megan Perkins, she, her.

Melanie Keebler, she, her.

Mike Riley, he him.

Ariel Mendes, Gina Franzosa, she, her.

Okay, we're gonna start with a few proclamations that we have tonight.

So our first proclamation is Child Care Provider Appreciation Day.

Counselor Norris.

Yes, uh Provider Appreciation Day is a celebration on the Friday before Mother's Day that recognizes the work of child care providers, teachers, and other educators of young children.

The first 2,000 days of a child's life are crucial for their development, with approximately 85% of brain growth happening by the time a child reaches kindergarten.

Researchers at the University of Washington Institute for Learning and Brain Science have determined that the human brain grows more in the first three years of life than during any other period, and the quality of the experiences and interactions that children have during that time can help promote learning.

According to the 2024 United States Census, an estimated 4.1% of Benn's residents are under five years old.

Study a 2021 study by the Oregon Childcare Research Partnership identified Deschutes County as a child care desert.

The City of Bend has provided assistance in the form of grants and partnerships to help accelerate the development of child care centers in Benn and continually seeks to identify and remove obstacles to operating these essential services within our community.

Neighbor Impact's child care resources team worked to add 273 new child care slots across Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties and Warm Springs in the year of 2025 alone, and relies on partnerships with providers in our community to create options for central Oregon families.

This year, the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care announced that Central Oregon is no longer considered a child care desert for ages three to five.

And we celebrate the tremendous work of our nonprofit partners and providers in reaching that milestone.

We must continue to advocate for and support our investment in the essential service they provide.

And we have Hannah and Brittany from Neighbor Impact here.

If you want to come up and if there's any if you want to say a few words at all about sort of the work you do while they're coming up, I also want to recognize we have one of our oldest daycare providers here.

Um Sue and Hannah Sue Sendel and Hannah St.

Johnstendal are here.

Um and they actually run the cottage daycare where I went as a child.

Oh my gosh.

Um and if you want to know what I look like, this is what I look like.

So Bernine, here anything else you want to add.

I serve as the intake and outreach specialist at Neighbor Impact Childcare Resources.

Um we support the child care providers here in Central Oregon, all of them.

Um I wanted to start out by thanking you all.

Um the Benn City Council for this meaningful proclamation.

Today we honor child care providers not just for the care that they provide, but for the futures they help build.

High quality child care is one of the strongest foundations we can offer our children.

It supports their development, nurtures their curiosity, and prepares them to succeed not only in school but in life as well.

When we invest in child care, we're investing in the success of our future generations.

In order to meet uh in order for child care to meet the needs of our central Oregon community, we must have both quality care and accessible care.

Accessible care means that child care is affordable, available, close in proximity, and aligned with a family's needs and values.

It means that each family can find child care that truly works for them.

To make this possible, our providers and families need strong continued support from our local, state, and federal leaders.

Tonight is a celebration, but it's also a reminder that we must continue building a child care system that works for all of our families, and we must value the professionals who make it possible.

Thank you.

Thanks so much for being here.

Thank you.

And we took a picture beforehand.

Yeah, so you can Megan, you want to hand them that copy there.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Um, our next proclamation proclamation is National Preservation Month.

And that'll be by me.

Great.

Um proclamation of National Preservation Month.

Whereas historical preservation is economically, environmentally, and socially responsible, it supports a culture of reuse by conserving places and maximizing the life cycle of resources through conservation and historic places help tell the story of Bend and strengthen our shared sense of place, identity, and community.

And it's important to celebrate the role of history in our lives and the contributions made by dedicated individuals in helping to preserve the heritage that has shaped us as a people.

And Deschutes County Historical Society, Deschutes County Historical Landmarks Commission, Redmond and Bend Landmarks Commissions, Three Sisters Historical Society, Le Pine Historical Society, and other volunteers are joining forces to promote the importance of preserving historical places during National Preservation Month 2026.

Now, therefore, we, the City Council of the City of Bend, Oregon, do proclaim May 2026 as National Historic Preservation Month and call upon the people in Bend to join their fellow citizens across the United States in recognizing and celebrating this special observance.

Thank you.

Move to accept this proclamation.

All right, moved by Council Mendis, seconded by Councillor Fran Sosa, all those in favor.

Hi.

Hi.

And I think we're gonna have Kelly Cannon Miller come up and perhaps say a couple of words from the executive director of the Deschutes Historical Museum.

And I was telling her uh as we took our picture a little bit earlier that every time we have family come into town that uh that we we stop by unfailingly at your place.

So thanks very much, and that I recognized all the uh mountain bike history from there when it came here in City Hall.

So thanks.

Thanks for what you do.

Go ahead, Kelly.

You're welcome, and thank you for the proclamation and for having us here tonight.

I am so glad to hear that you're all enjoying clunkers and stump jumpers in the hallways of City Hall.

Thank you for being an annex when we have an extra exhibit.

It's like we never want to put them away.

So we'll just call you up and say, hey, we're coming over.

Uh buy us some command strips.

Um yeah, so it's preservation month, and um it's my been my privilege to be uh the executive director of the historical society and be the keeper of these kinds of stories.

Sometimes they're um lively like mountain biking, and they give you a sense of the warm fuzzy and nostalgia, and sometimes the stories we keep are much more painful, and it's our job to make sure that we balance both of them.

And these historic spaces that are our landscape, the point of preservation month is to get you all in these places and thinking about that history, the good and the bad, and how it impacts your life.

Um we have an amazing lineup of events.

They're all on our website, dishuits history.org.

Uh go to the preservation month page.

Um we have a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian joining us at the Tower Theater next week, Rick Atkinson.

Um, and that is part of our America's 250.

We're combining, you know, lots of anniversaries at this moment in time.

Um, so come next week and learn about the history of the American Revolution from one of the best.

Um, we're having a chance to give free tickets to teachers to that event as well.

Um, but there's much more going on in the county.

There's a brand new baby historical society uh blossoming in La Pine that we're helping to support this year.

There's Walks and Sisters, Redmond and Bend, lots of ways for you to get involved and uh find your connection to the story of our place that we call home.

Thank you.

Thank you, Kelly.

Thanks.

All right.

All right, and then our last proclamation tonight is Foster Care Month, Councilmanis.

Yes, uh for foster care month, whereas the children of Bend, Oregon are our most precious resource.

And ensuring their safety, well-being, and future success is essential to a strong and thriving community.

And whereas in Oregon, thousands of children are in foster and relative care, and in Bend, there are currently 139 youth experiencing foster care.

And whereas the month of May is recognized nationally as foster care month, a time to raise awareness and honor the dedication and compassion of foster parents, kinship caregivers, social workers, advocates, and volunteers who support children and families.

And whereas court-appointed special advocate volunteers and other community members play a vital role in ensuring that children and foster care have a consistent voice and that and the support they need to navigate a complex system.

And whereas increased awareness and community involvement can strengthen the foster care system and help ensure that every child has access to safe, stable, and nurturing relationships.

And whereas by working together, we can help ensure that every child in Bend, Oregon has the opportunity to grow, thrive, and reach their full potential.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Benn City Council does hereby proclaim the month of May 2026 as foster care month in Benn and encourages all residents to recognize the important role of foster families, advocates, and community partners, and to support efforts that promote the safety, permanency, and well-being of children in foster care.

Thank you.

Move to accept the proclamation.

Second.

All right, move by Council Prince Rosa, second by Councillor Norris.

All those in favor?

Hi.

Great.

And we have uh Heather Dion, the executive director of CASA, Central Oregon here tonight.

Um Heather, would you mind taking a seat and sharing any remarks you have for us?

Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Mendez, and thank you to the city council.

I am Heather, I'm the executive director of CASA Central Oregon, and I'm here speaking on behalf of the many organizations and adults who act on behalf of children in foster care here in Bend.

I'd like to thank you all for acknowledging May as foster care month.

Um and last year, 2025, 200 children from Bend spent time in foster care.

These are children who came into foster care because they likely experienced abuse and neglect in their home of origin, and they needed the services of the state.

These are also their babies, their preschoolers, their elementary school kids, their athletes, their scholars, and their students at every school in Ben Le Pine schools.

These are children and youth who deserve safe nurturing environments where they can heal and thrive and become successful adults.

There are many caring adults in our community who work tirelessly on behalf of children.

This includes case workers, attorneys, family members, resource parents, and yes, Casa volunteers, among many others.

And there are many ways that our community does step forward and can step forward to help these children.

And I thank the City of Bend for raising awareness about this issue, and I hopefully inspire others to join us in this impactful work.

Thank you.

Thank you, Doug.

We're gonna take a picture because Heather didn't get a chance to work meeting.

I need to like some really good one.

Okay.

Thank you.

All right, next um on Good of the Order is recognizing Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Um and thank you to Hoontran and the community for raising this and uh helping with writing this statement that I'm about to read.

So in observance of Asian Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, A N H P I, the City of Bend stands in solidarity with our diverse ANHPI community and acknowledges the rich cultural tapestry, vibrant traditions, and invaluable contributions they bring to our city.

As we celebrate this Heritage Month, we cannot ignore the urgent need to address the anti-Asian violence and discrimination that continues to affect our nation and our community.

The ongoing wave of hate crimes, the xenophobic attacks targeting Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders is a stark reminder of the deep rooted prejudices and systemic injustices that persists in our society.

We unequivocally condemn all forms of racism, bigotry, and violence directed toward members of this community, and we reaffirm our commitment to standing against hate in all its forms.

Since 2025, increased ICE enforcement actions have increasingly targeted Asian communities across Oregon, creating conditions of fear that undermine the safety and well-being of families in our state.

Southeast Asian refugees, long-term residents, and international students have experienced family separation, intimidation, and persistent anxiety that undermines their civil rights, their liberties, and their freedoms.

These actions echo a broader history of forced removals, incarceration, exclusion, and trauma that happened here in Oregon and across the country.

The City of Bend unequivocally affirms the dignity, belonging, and security that all residents deserve.

We recognize that a broad umbrella of labels can obscure inequities and lived realities and reinforce stereotypes, such as the model minority myth, while masking disparities between communities and that grouping Asians, Native American, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders under a single heritage month can unintentionally flatten profoundly distinct cultures, histories, and experiences.

And so we hope our nation continues to move towards greater specificity and care in how it names and honors these communities.

The City of Bend commits to resisting that erasure by uplifting the distinct voices, needs, and leadership of Asians, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

It's important to acknowledge that Asian and Pacific Island languages, including Mandarin and Tagalog, are among the most spoken languages in our school district, reflecting the cultural diversity and interconnectedness of our community.

This linguistic diversity enriches our city and underscores the importance of fostering inclusive spaces where all languages and cultures are celebrated and valued.

As we commemorate this Heritage Month month, we recognize the resilience, strength, and contributions of Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders across all facets of society, from arts and literature to science, technology, and business.

We honor the trailblazers, activists, and community leaders who have paved the way for progress and social change, and we commit to amplifying their stories and legacies.

The City of Bend reaffirms our commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of civic life.

And we pledge to continue working collaborative collaboratively with our ANHPI community partners to address inequities, dismantle barriers to opportunity, and create a more just and equitable city for all.

So may this month serve as a time of reflection, celebration, and solidarity as we honor the rich cultural heritage and enduring contributions of Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders to the fabric of our city and our nation.

And I want to mention an upcoming event that people can attend later this month.

It's the ANHPI talent show.

And it's going to be happening at COCC at Willie Hall on May 31st from 4 to 5 30 p.m.

And this is there's a group in town, the Asian Pacific Islanders Collective that's been putting on this talent show for a couple of years.

I've attended it.

I know several of us have.

It's a really great event.

It has a lot of performances, and they're going to be giving an award this year, so I really encourage people to attend.

Again, May 31st from 4 to 5 30 at COCC for that talent show.

Thank you.

Okay.

That moves us into Council Action and Reports.

And there are not any letters this time.

We are currently recruiting for committees, so there's no appointments.

We'll be doing some interviews soon for the committees that have openings, so those will be happening over the next month.

So that will put us into council reports.

So, Councilor Franzoza.

Thanks.

On April 23rd, I attended the core area advisory board meeting where they heard an update from a consultant on retail and market analysis for the city of Bend, which should give us some really good information to help spread neighborhood commercial.

One of my areas I care deeply about.

So that was a good, I think a good discussion, a really good turnout by the community there.

Had a bunch of meetings with constituents around street safety for bikes, and again removing barriers to neighborhood commercial.

And the last thing I want to mention on street safety, we got an email this week from someone who driving their car on R.

G.

Briggs Road got passed by another car, passed on R.

G.

Briggs, if you drive that road.

The same thing happened to me actually a couple months ago.

So I plan to meet with a police team about traffic enforcement, but the other thing I want to point out too is that the police department took the unusual step at the end of March to issue a media release about the number of accidents that happened in Bend around the end of March.

And that they said coincided with spring break, but that coincides with the tourists coming, which is going to happen this summer.

So I'm just using my counselor update to say to plead to whoever is listening, please drive safe on our roads.

Please.

Whether you're in a car, whether you're biking, whether you're walking, it affects us all.

Whether you are a homeowner whose house gets hit, because that happens too.

Please just be safe on our roads.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Councilor Mendis.

Yes, thank you.

Starting with uh yesterday, we had um, I'm sure some of you will also mention this uh representative Bynam visiting us yesterday.

Uh, we also had a bicycle ride to celebrate the opening of the Bend Bikeway.

We had about 65 people come.

Uh, this was a great opportunity to get questions answered to experience new wayfinding signs, some of the traffic diverters that have been installed.

Um, and just build community.

It was a great, great event.

Um, the youth summit was fantastic.

Uh, we heard concerns about affordability, homelessness, uh, youth homelessness in particular, and also climate change, which I thought was interesting because um it's it turns out I think uh this is born in public surveys as well.

Uh, young people care a lot more about climate change than older people do, and I think that makes a certain amount of sense when you think about it.

Um CityFest was uh last Friday, and one of the things I wanted to call attention to in uh the mayor's speech is that we've experienced a 20% reduction in unsheltered homelessness.

That is reversing a really long, years long trend and really good news.

Um I met with uh some residents to talk about ways of mitigating the effects of construction that is occurring nearby.

There's a lot of construction going on, so I think this is an important topic for us to consider.

Um we also had a meeting.

Um a number of us met with a consultant to talk about what role the city might take in promoting neighborhood commercial in terms of identifying places in town that are lacking certain kinds of commercial amenities, um, and to have a data informed conversation about that.

On Thursday, April 23rd, the City of Bend Accessibility Advisory Committee met to approve their very ambitious work plan, um, which is which looks amazing.

They've got two years to work through a lot of of uh work.

On Monday, April 20th, the Transportation Bond Oversight Committee met.

Uh, we are as a city on track to hit the timeline for bond expenditures of 85% of total debt issued by June 7th, 2027.

Uh so that's good news.

Uh, one other little tidbit there is that the growth in our tax base means that debt issuance will be slightly lower than anticipated.

So there are some silver linings to uh to having more households to share the burden here.

Um, and then we had a conversation about this question of what is the purview of a newly expanded transportation committee look like.

And there was some further discussion about what it would look like to also cover things like operations and maintenance.

My take is I think there's a little bit of lack of clarity on what we mean by that.

I think there's issue, there's interest in you know, for example, I didn't know this, but we have a policy of filling potholes in 48 hours, which is pretty ambitious, but actually gets done a lot of the time.

Why do we have that?

Uh people should know about it.

What is our street sweeping policy?

Um cities vary on these kinds of questions, and so maybe there would be some appetite to having uh that new committee discuss those in sort of an annual or ongoing basis.

Um then the uh the Bend MPO meeting um metropolitan planning organization met.

Um I'll I'll leave it there.

I feel like I've been going on too long.

Oh, okay.

That's all right.

Okay, Councilor Riley.

So um several things you've already people have already mentioned.

Um I participated in as well, the youth summit, the bike ride yesterday, and looking at the diverters um as well as the discussion about neighborhood commercial, those are all very informative.

Um, I um participated in something called the local public safety coordinating committee, and I didn't know it from yesterday's meeting, but the county courthouse is open.

The new county courthouse is actually open and operating, and we heard from the judge, uh the presiding judge there just about how effective it is at um really allowing them to handle a larger caseload, but also to do it much more efficiently and much more safely.

It's really functioning the way they had hoped.

So it was just kind of good to hear that that that investment is actually um working for for the community now.

Um, during that meeting, we also heard some good news, but also there was some sobering news related to um overdose deaths from opioids.

So I just wanted to share a little bit about that.

Um we're still seeing overdose dose deaths going down uh locally um for a variety of factors, including um improved access to naloxone or narcan, um, which you know revives people when they were in their experience in um an overdose and often saves lives.

Um, so that's really good news, and there's a variety of other things that they talked about, but that was one of the big ones.

On the flip side, I brought up and then several of the other participates participants in the meeting also mentioned that there is now a new drug that's showing up on the streets called an orphine that is ten times more powerful than fentanyl.

And they're not finding it here in Oregon.

There's only one case in the Northwest, but it causes very rapid sudden overdoses.

It's very resistant to naloxone and Narcan.

So when you could give somebody one or maybe two doses of that before now, you might need to give them three or four doses to just to get them to start breathing again.

And it's very hard to test for.

So good news and bad news.

Okay.

The old Bend neighborhood district had a meeting specifically to talk about the diverters that Councilor Mendez was talking a little bit about in neighborhoods and also parking districts.

I participated in that, and it was just really valuable to kind of hear their perspective and hear all the things that they like and also all the things that they don't like about both of those programs and kind of help inform me, my thinking a little bit more as we move forward, especially on the parking districts.

And then the last thing I wanted to mention was I went to an Edco Pub talk that talked about fire, and you know, it's focused on businesses in our community.

But uh it was very interesting in terms of some of the planning tools that were being talked about there that folks are developing that come out of working, like this guy works as used to work as a fire chief, and the idea of being able to anticipate and target the dollars that you're using for preparedness and prevention measures rather than doing it in a sweeping way across the community based on a variety of risk factors.

I thought it was really interesting, and I'm hoping I plan to be following up with Melissa Steele, who was also there to just talk more about you know, are there are those tools something we might want to think about using because we're never gonna have all the money we'd like to have to be effective with with um preparedness and prevention, and it might be a they might be useful tools to help us target our resources.

I do want to mention one thing related to um the not quite proclamation that you read.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, that I it just this week I talked to an Asian youth, um, a young woman who just shared with me that she and particular her brother are regularly taunted and bullied at school uh for being Asian in our community.

And I just want to share that as a concrete example of something that I just heard about from a young person here in Bend, Oregon.

And it is, you know, this kind of stuff is real, it's not just a conceptual thing, it really does happen on a regular basis here in Bend.

And so just for all of us to keep that in mind.

It's real.

Yeah.

Councilor Morris.

I mean, sorry, Councilor Perkins.

Um, I will a lot of this the things have been talked about already that we've that a lot of us went to.

Um I will say that um to tie in a lot of the conversations that we just had tonight already.

I spoke with three groups of of third graders from the silver rail, and the things that that they are are most interested in for the future of Bend, um, they want everyone to be kinder to each other.

Um they would really like um to stop pollution of of any kind and to stop littering of any kind.

And a lot of these kids are very, very concerned about cars speeding down their boats, and it makes them really hard for them to ride their bikes.

And so those are the those are the three topics that it seems kind of appropriate based on the conversations we're gonna have tonight.

Um I wanted I had the uh coordinated houses response office uh board meeting, and uh we talked about a few important things.

Um, one of them was um um talking about the impact of the funds that the CHRO has already given to um to the city um to city of Redmond to City of Bend and others, um, and how it's allowed in the city of Bend, allowed us to vastly increase the number of say parking spaces that we have, as well as make really needed um important improvements to our shelters.

Um we also talked about um that a project that um that the HLC and neighbor impact is taking on about data improvement and just trying to make sure that we're we're we're getting the best numbers that we possibly can so that we can be transparent to the public about about what we're doing.

And um, we're still kind of going through the process of having this central Oregon strategic plan to address um homelessness and and still giving input to the consultants that are working on that.

Um, but the the thing I wanted to focus on a little bit is that um for those of you um on council, you know that for for years now um we've been trying to get the Gales property um uh to be able to um provide shelter um and provide you know uh outdoor shelter for our homeless in our community and the CHRO gave uh 25,000 um to the Gales property uh in order to help them with their land use rezone.

It turns out that there um was a difference of about $2,100.

Um and um the county commission, instead of um trying to figure out how they could pay for that, kicked it to the CHRO and said just have the CHRO pay for it.

We are paying for it, um, and because we don't want to see any more delays in this project that has been delayed for years now.

Um, but we are also sending a letter to the county commission to let them know that you know this is something they are literally not putting their money where their mouth is.

Um, and it's it's a really it's a really upsetting thing.

Um this is something that they have they have talked about supporting, um, and when it came down to it, they did not.

So um just wanted to to mention that.

Um today I went to the mosaic um medical luncheon, and um God, there's some something today that just really impacted me a lot.

So they the Mosaic is uh starting a pediatric eating disorder clinic.

Um they have seen an 800% increase in eating disorder patients since COVID.

Um it is a it is a post-COVID um just a horrible phenomenon, and um thank goodness for Mosaic for stepping in.

Um for anyone who's ever known anyone in their life that has had an eating disorder.

You have your therapist in one spot, you have uh your nutritionist in another spot, you have your doctor another spot.

Mosaic is bringing all of that together in one clinic so they can work together.

Um, and um I'm just so grateful that they're there, as well as the um 14,000 dental uh patients that they see every year.

Uh they have an active patient population of 35,000.

Um, they have 32,000 behavioral health patients, um, and they do um 267,000 uh dispenses at their pharmacy, and I could go on and on and on.

So um it's such a and we're so lucky to have mosaic, and I encourage us all to support them as much as we can.

And then um last I just wanted to talk about the Bend Economic Development Advisory Board.

Um we you'll hear in June from Visit Bend, but wanted to give you a little uh preview of of some of the things that they were talking about.

There are 3600 Bend residents that are directly tied to tourism with with jobs.

Um, and Ben sees an average of uh 5700 tourists a day.

And um visitor contributions are 4.1 times per capita to our tax base than resident contributions.

In fact, visitor spending is far outpacing resident spending.

Um and we saw last year a 408 million dollars in travel spending um in our community.

And the other interesting that they were they were talking about is just a few years ago, less than half of the residents in um our community felt positive or even neutral about tourism, and that number has changed dramatically, and now 69% of residents feel neutral or positive about tourism.

So I thought that was a really impressive turnaround.

Um we'll hear more from them.

And it was interesting, someone from from BDUB, um, one of the the members talked about how it's really the the only part of our budget that can dramatically change, right?

Um, based on on what's going on with with our with tourism, and so that makes a really important thing that we need to continue to invest in.

So that's all.

Thank you.

Councilor Norris.

Um yes, I intended the Orchard District Neighborhood Association.

Um, sadly, it was at the same time as the Fault Lines movie that I really wanted to go to as well.

But it was a great um get together.

There was a lot of community members there.

It's a really active neighborhood association.

Um we had our staff there talking about transportation and wildfire prevention.

Um so just a big shout out to them and all their their activism.

Um I also attended City Fest, so it was a great turnout.

Um, really enjoyed that and then went around and celebrated Art Walk um uh with my husband, so it was really nice to get out on town.

And then um I attended the U Summit as well and just was so impressed with our young people and just hope that they'll all be able to afford to move back here one day and perhaps serve in a public role.

Um they're just bright minds, and it was really um inspiring to hear.

And I hope that we could also do more as a council in engaging our youth and keep that um keep that momentum up.

That's it.

Great, thanks, Council Plack.

Great, thanks.

Uh a couple weeks ago, I had the honor of uh going to the Let's Talk Housing event at uh at the open space uh space and kind of representing the city council there.

And it was just it was great to see groups besides um the you know, outside of sort of the city local uh government and uh that are taking more of a statewide look and talking about all the good things that they're doing around the state, and they kept coming back to Ben and Stane, and you're doing some really good stuff uh right here.

You're crying a lot of that stuff.

So it was really rewarding to see that and also to help talk about some of the build out that's that's happening in our city over the next 20 years with the growth plan.

So I enjoyed that a great deal.

Um along with uh I think Councillor Mendez, I was able to attend the legislative town hall a couple weeks ago as well, and here some updates as far as some forward thinking that our representatives are doing uh from Central Oregon and really working together well.

So that was that was impressive, along with uh all the the screening and the and the bike ride.

Really uh really pleasant doing that.

One of the things that I was able to do uh last Wednesday, I just couldn't help myself.

I had to come back to this room uh Wednesday night for the Electrify 101 uh event that occurred in here, and so we had uh a small group that heard about electrifying their homes and barriers and how to overcome those.

So I thought that was very well done uh here locally, just um uh talk on how to how to get to the resources that you need.

I was able to attend the um the Ben Chamber of Commerce What's Brewing event uh also uh last week, which was really a neat event in that they talked from our local energy providers to the region, both uh Cascad Natural Gas, but also Pacific Power, along with Receptor Electro Cooperative, and finally um Zama came in and sort of brought down the house for their brief just they're really uh very hopeful, and I wanted to update to City Council way back when I went last year, last fall to tour that site, they were at two gigawatts of power.

Now they're now they're proposing they expect five gigawatts of power, assuming they can tap into the resources and get it to the power uh to the power infrastructure that we have here.

However, that would really change what we are going to be.

We're gonna be a net power per uh exporter across the region when that comes to fruition.

So I'm really excited about that.

And then coming back to the youth summit, sitting with some students of of mine, also from uh Summit High School, just made me think about my AP1 students that took their exam today.

So I'm hoping they're all celebrating their success of this evening and looking forward to my APC students next week uh doing the same thing.

So that's all I've got.

Thank you.

Great, thank you.

Um so thank you to everyone who came to City Fest City Fest last uh Friday.

We held it in the parking lot of a local downtown business, Lyft Fitness.

So thank you to Liv Fitness for allowing us to use that space and be in Tin Pan Alley.

It was a really good event and really fun to partner with Downtown Bend Business Association for their first Friday as well.

Um just uh this week um have been at a couple of events.

One of them, um, Congresswoman Bynum was here to um do a big tour through the district, and one of those things was a stop at our public works building to hand over a big check for almost a million dollars for clean water infrastructure and replacing some very old pipes from the 1960s in one of our neighborhoods.

So, really thankful to the Congresswoman for helping us to get that funding.

She also held um a fire round fire season readiness round table on Monday that I attended, and um the upshot is we all know very, very low snowpack.

Um, and we are going to be in a drought.

Um, but it is hard to predict exactly what will happen.

We saw examples of analog years where there was a very low fire season or years with 80% snowpack where the fire season was awful, right?

So um what we can do as a community is control our own behavior, try to be very safe, pay attention to um the weather and the red flag warnings.

Um, and then there is a um fire um readiness uh fair that's on Saturday at COCC that I encourage everyone to come to.

That's from 10 to 1.

Um and that is a great way to learn how to be prepared, how to be prepared yourself with your neighborhood for the season that's coming out.

In the same vein, um, Eric and I went to um a meeting with Pacific Power this morning and um a lot of our folks from the city, including our fire department, to talk about how they are going to have their settings turned on to prevent fires from happening if a branch falls on their line.

This does result in a lot more um outages that people do sometimes experience.

Um they also talked about how they react to fires that get near their infrastructure or if they see really dangerous weather coming, how they plan for that as well.

Um so the one thing I would tell folks either Pacific Power or Central Electric Co-op, make sure that you go in and update all of your information with them so that they can text you or email you and let you know and communicate if these things are happening, so you have all the information.

Did you talk about squirrels?

Uh we did talk about schools.

Yes.

And um also we heard that one time a an eagle dropped his salmon on their lines.

It's very original.

And that was extremely very Oregon.

Oh my gosh.

So yeah.

Um, in the week before that, um, had our small group meetings with county leadership and Ben Parks and Rec leadership.

Um, and I was also attended the League of Cities Spring Conference in Pendleton, as well as the board meeting of the um the LSE board that week, um, and then a special session that we had um around revenue reform and the project that LLC is working on really building up how do we get information out to people and education out to people about what the property systems um restrictions are and why cities are struggling to keep up with costs in the hopes of eventually getting to a place where we can ask voters to make a change.

So that's a really great project that LSE is continuing to pursue.

Um, and that's it for me.

So that will move us to our visitor section.

So um, this is the time for folks to make public comment to the city council.

We ask that you um if you're here in person, you're gonna come on up to the table, introduce yourself, and you'll have two minutes to speak.

There's a big box here that will show your two minutes.

Um please address us as a body and not as individuals, and and please keep your language and behavior non receptor non-disruptive to the meeting.

Um, I think we have one person online that we're gonna start with.

If you're here and you signed up for the EID, which is item five, I'm gonna call you when we get to that item because that's a separate public hearing.

So don't worry if I don't call your name for that.

We will get to you a little later on.

And everyone else who's here for visitors coming, I'm gonna go through you.

We're gonna start with um Brad, who is online.

Hi there, can you guys hear me?

Yep, go ahead.

Okay.

Good evening, Mayor Keeper, Pro Temp Mayor Perkins, Council members and staff.

My name is Brad Archuletto.

We'll welcome to Night Plumbers and Steam Fitters.

Every day I deal with real-world impacts these decisions have on working people across the building trades.

Men and women simply try to put food on the table and provide for their families.

I swore an oath to represent those workers, just as each of you swore an oath to represent your constituents.

That is why I need to underscore something tonight.

This council does not appear to fully understand the economic realities of this situation, even when the industry experts and professionals have presented those facts clearly.

This is not abstract policy decisions.

These decisions have real consequences.

They directly affect jobs, family wages, energy affordability, and long-term economic health of this community.

The people I represent cannot afford policies built on assumptions instead of practical realities.

I urge this council to listen carefully to the experts.

Consider the broader impacts on working families and make decisions grounded in facts, economics, and common sense.

Specifically, the council appears to be ignoring the basic economics of charging constituents more for energy while not actually reducing carbon emissions in the near term.

In fact, the emissions could very likely increase.

I've also grave concerns about how the dollars collected from the utility customers will be ultimately used.

There is no real wealth creation here.

This is not prosperity.

And what is most troubling is that these outcomes are entirely predictable.

The city has put forward unsustainable claims that made decisions based on those claims.

More concerning the city delayed hearing from the industry experts until their general direction of this decision had already been established.

And when those experts were finally allowed to weigh in, providing the evidence based information backed by decades of world real world experience, their expertise has largely been ignored.

At the end of the day, working families, ratepayers, and skilled tradespeople will bear the consequences of these decisions.

I respectfully ask the council to reconsider the direction and is taking and giving proper weight to factual evidence, economic reality, and the voices of the people who will be directly affected.

Thank you, Brad.

All right, that was it for online commenters.

So we will go to in-person.

So first is going to be Robert Rector.

Come on up.

And then after Robert, it's going to be Mark Huber.

Good evening, everyone.

First, I'd like to apologize for the disturbance my not so smart cell upon made.

Oh, that's okay.

And uh but the main reason I'm here is because uh I went when I heard that this was gonna be uh proclamation for national historic preservation.

That's my a major concern that I had that I have lived along the Pilot View Canal Historic District, which is what is now designated as for 2005.

And um we are uh presently um in a battle with with Central Oregon irrigation district, rightfully so they're concerned about uh water, but I also think they also want to increase their hydroelectricity, which would result if they could get if they piped our part of the canal.

And um the other reason was I I put together a pamphlet that I'm hoping each one of you will have the opportunity to go through and look at.

Uh it might give you an education and understanding of where we're coming from.

I'm sure you all here and GYD have more opportunities than I do to speak to you with with with their concerns.

We all have our concerns, and I think there's a medium that we can all at some point in time reach, and that's what I'm hoping we can do.

But it it takes for each one of us to understand the complexity of what we're dealing with, uh, and it's not simple.

But it it takes for each one of us to understand the complexity of what we're dealing with, and it's not simple, but it can, depending on which direction we go, be quite destructive to person like myself who lives on the canal, which you will see how it can uh impact a homeowners along the Pilot View Canal Historic District.

With all that being said, trying to see what time I have a speaker quick.

I want to I don't know what everybody's belief is or how they feel, but uh, if it you have the desire, we would like to have you come out so you can see our area firsthand.

And I have my contact information in the back.

Feel free to uh either email me or give me a call, and we can make that arrangement.

So thank you very much.

Thank you, Robert.

Thank you, Rob.

All right, Mark Hubert come on up.

And after Mark, it's gonna be Scott Dolphus.

Well, thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your time.

Uh I'm here with Rob.

He's a neighbor, and I also live in the Canal View Development in the historic district.

And um pretty much echo everything Rob said.

Um I'm hoping that if there are any permits or legal loopholes that COID has to go through to get permission from the city to pipe down the canal bed, as they indicated in their meeting on April 17th.

They they actually mapped out three different ways of piping that water, and the gentleman uh, the engineering consultant told us that the canal bed was the best way to go, but it really isn't the best way to go.

It may be the least expensive way to go, I'm not sure.

Uh but there's just a whole myriad of issues that probably aren't relevant to you folks.

Uh, one of them that raises concern with me, and I I've never heard an answer to this, but many of the homes on the Pilot Canal are lots or go to the middle of the canal.

So we pay taxes on that property.

COID has an easement for a quote open canal across our property.

So I don't understand how legally they could just go ahead and pipe, which would require either excavation or building of trestles to hold the pipe, something on private property without consent.

Doesn't make sense to me, but I just don't have an answer to that yet.

I also don't know how many hoops COID has to jump through with the city, the county, the National Historic Society to get this all cleared up where they're allowed to pipe.

But anyway, thank you for your time.

Really appreciate it.

Thanks for coming, Mark.

Thanks.

All right, Scott Dawkist, and after that, uh Michael Baker.

Thanks, Ashley, for getting those out.

In your comments, that's what I'm here to address today.

This isn't a result of anything I'm talking about.

Okay, that's gonna say.

Last summer, per City of Bend data, there were in excess of 450 vehicles per day on this road.

Common sense would suggest once Skyline Ranch Road is connected on the north end, traffic will only increase.

This is a very pedestrian area, and we are once again asking for city support to slow traffic on this corridor before a pet, a child, a walker, or a biker is hurt.

We have already witnessed close calls and a road rage incident reported to the Bend Police Department.

As concerned citizens, we are asking the city to authorize and install stop signs on Northwest Skyline Ranch Road at the intersections of Northwest Salilo Lane and also at Northwest Ochoa Drive.

Right now, there is nothing to calm traffic on this straight stretch of road.

We individually and collectively have been told by city employees that nothing will be reviewed or done until the street is connected.

We also reached out to Brooks Resources, the developers of this area for support.

But we're told by an executive there that until there is an incident, the city won't do anything.

If that's true, I hope you can see how that logic is not only flawed but potentially negligent.

The program focuses on making it safer for people walking and biking, creating safe routes for kids to get to school, reducing speeding, improving intersections and crossings, and solving other safety issues in residential areas, unquote.

This is exactly what we are asking for and what we need.

Thank you for listening.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks.

Scott, are you related to Williams Alquist?

Yes.

Okay, I've been emailing with him and staff as well.

So just so you know.

Thank you.

All right.

Um and then Michael Baker, you uh we'll finish this off.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

My name is Michael Baker, and I have the honor of being a CEO here for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Bend.

I just wanted to give you a couple updates.

Uh, first of all, uh last year um a few of you attended our gold card ceremony, and that's the magic number of 105 days for the children that attend the clubs.

Uh last year we had 38 members that achieve that status.

And we've talked about wanting kids coming more often.

We have more impact with them.

Uh we are already at 45 children that have attended uh and we still have four months to go.

So we're probably gonna get close to 100 kiddos that are gonna be receiving that, which is a tremendous um testament to the to the staff that are working with the kids every day.

I also want to let you know about summer camp offerings.

Uh we are an organization that typically has been open eight weeks in the summer uh for summer programming.

There's such a huge need here in Bend, as you all know, and uh very thankful for all the other providers as well.

Uh we will be open 12 weeks this summer uh for programming.

Okay.

Uh so it'll be from the first day of summer to the last day of summer.

So there's programming and people can sign up for individual weeks, they can do that through BGC Bend.org.

Uh that's our that's our website.

Uh and then also I wanted to invite each of you uh to join us.

Uh one of our weeks themed is all about Bend.

Uh so the kiddos are gonna learn about the city of Bend, all different aspects of Bend and field trips and tours and different things that we're gonna do.

And we're honored that uh city administrator um King is going to be uh on a panel of one right now.

Uh hopefully to answer but to answer questions about the city of Bend that our kiddos are going to come up with.

So very excited by that.

And uh also wanted to just end by letting you know that uh as you drive by the building right now, you see some work that's being done on the front of the building.

That's uh a long time coming, but we're very excited about uh the repair maintenance and repair work that we're doing on the facility, and uh uh would certainly encourage each and every one of you to come down and uh get a tour and see what's happening in there because a lot of good things are happening at the club.

So appreciate all your support.

Thanks, Michael, and thank you.

All right, that will conclude the visitor section.

So that moves us into the consent agenda.

I'd like to pull one of the items on the consent agenda.

Okay.

Um item B.

The community development, the C D G annual action plan.

So I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda with out.

Okay, second.

All right, move to approved consent agenda, except for item B.

All those in favor?

All right.

All right, for item B, who can present and what's the question?

Um, I just want to add so um stoked to see all the money that is being put toward um homeownership support.

Um, I imagine that's went to down payment assistance, probably.

Correct.

That's great.

Um, I was I was kind of wanted to ask about the um seeming in this the issue summary that said that AHAC directed staff to pursue different angles, and so I just want to kind of discuss like what AHAC's authority is versus what council's authority is.

Um absolutely um regarding that word.

It was just uh a simple poor choice on my part of a word.

We we do understand the AHAC's charter and their code is to make recommendations to staff and to council.

So it's really my attempt to dazzle you with a word.

So it's just gonna say there's no confusion about AHAC's role, they they just make recommendations.

Okay, we understand that.

Okay.

Um I think it did like that, but their their recommendation though did result in uh RFP being put out without council's input on that, right?

So well, that is in their code that they do make those um, they do direct staff with aspects with the application that is part of their code.

Um, and so there are also only two responses for services, I think, or something like that.

For the ones one response on infrastructure.

So that's a little concerned because like grant opportunities are very you know necessary to keep a lot of these organizations going, and to you know, make sure that our community is being served and dollars are getting spent most wisely.

So why do you think it is that we only got so few responses and yeah?

So the original um offering was made for infrastructure, and with the idea of all of the funds this year to be used for infrastructure.

Infrastructure, um, the only applicant that we have was the city of Bend for sidewalks, and it was a continuation of a project that that council awarded to them in 2025.

Um the reason that we didn't have affordable housing developers apply, there were two reasons.

Number one, the infrastructure projects would require prevailing wage under the federal funds, and none of the developers wanted to apply for a project where prevailing weights would apply.

And then the other reason is there's a lot of uncertainty right now with the federal funds.

Would we get them?

Will we not?

Well, there's been changing climate sometimes weekly with um different guidelines and different directives that come with the federal funds, and most of the partners in the community were not comfortable with that uncertainty.

And we are still there is litigation still with the city of Bend and the federal government that is still um upheld, but we don't know if that will change as well.

So that is essentially why we had such few applicants is because of that uncertainty.

And while we understand in the community funds are limited throughout, for some of our partners, applying for funds that may not be funds they can use would have a really devastating impact on their staff or their budget or their operations of some of the federal chaos that we'll be.

Just to be clear, I mentioned to Rep Bindum that CDBG funding and all that funding is very important.

It should not be cut.

She agrees with.

So okay.

I think are we good for a motion on that?

Under B.

All right, items.

Move to approve item B on the consent agenda.

Second.

All right, moved by Council Perkins, second by council Riley.

All those in favor?

I thank you, Melissa, for the explanation.

Appreciate that.

All right.

Uh that moves us to item number five, which is uh you want to read that, Ashley, and I'll open it.

This is the public hearing and first reading of an ordinance to establish an economic improvement district in the Bend Central District.

Okay, so I'm gonna go ahead and open the public hearing, and then we will have a presentation to start, and then after the presentation is done, we will do the public comment.

All right, good evening, Council Cyrus Mooney.

Um in economic development, I'm our business development manager, and accompanying me tonight is Danielle Elder.

I'm uh with the Bend Central District Business Association, one of their board members.

And tonight, as the mayor referenced, we have a first public hearing and first reading of an ordinance that would establish the economic improvement district in the Benn Central District.

Generally, just some outline points on what economic improvement districts or EIDs are.

Um there can be viewed as a public-private partnership between the city and a business association which serves as a nonprofit.

So the city collects these funds.

There's financial administration that the city does that is put into a separate funding account that's specifically used for the EID within the central district, potentially in this scenario, and then the BCDBA is the group that really goes out and does the work for what is impended within the scope that council has already heard about.

Um as you all know, there is an existing EID within our downtown area that's been long-standing.

Um similar type of situation here that we already have with the Bend uh sorry, downtown Bend Business Association.

Just a timeline of this process um really kicked off on January 5th during a work session where the Bend Central District Business Association presented the council a proposed boundary, proposed assessments, and a proposed scope of work that was supported by the council and directed staff to move forward in the process and leading us to today, May 6th is that first reading of the ordinance and first public hearing to establish the district.

May 20th, assuming things move forward tonight, would be that second reading.

And July 15th is where the resolution would be in place to levy the assessments for the EID.

So that is the process in which we take into account all of the feedback that we hear from the property owners, reconcile that, and you can view it as a vote if you will.

Um, and we'll get into that process in a little more detail here shortly.

Again, just reiterating what tonight is for and what the other steps in the process are.

The decision tonight is for council to determine whether they would like to establish the EID or not.

And if so, additional notices will be sent out to the potentially affected property owners within the boundary that will indicate what their exact assessments will be and details about the remonstrance hearing and how to submit feedback at that time.

For the remonstrance hearing, another point to make about the vote of the property owners.

If more than 33% of representation of ownership of commercial property within that proposed boundary oppose the district moving forward, then those assessments cannot be levied.

And I'll pass it over to Daniel.

Yeah.

How EID funds are typically used is through beautification, and that's public space improvements, growth through business development, awareness through marketing and events, and livability through safety and sanitation services.

And I think the BCEBA has a history over the years of prioritizing these four categories equally, and the intention is to continue to use the server forward.

And then why to establish the BCD as an EID?

It directly maximizes urban renewal efforts, which the urban renewal funding is already helping and could you uh and more could be added.

An EID would create steady, flexible source of money to help projects move faster and make a bigger impact.

It stabilizes organic momentum.

An EID can provide organization, staff support, reliable funding to help continue, community driven and improvements over time.

It could uh expedite development as well through an EID funding.

It could be used quickly to make visible improvements right away, helping reduce risk and encourage private investment leading to development.

Alrighty.

Here is the proposed boundary map that you all have seen previously.

There's roughly just above 1.6 million square feet of commercial that's included in there.

We use the Deschutes County Assessor data as our source for where we're pulling this information from.

This includes non-residential property use classes and commercial and or industrial structure types.

So that's just to clarify that it's only the assessments would only be applied to the structures, not the land in which there is not structure that it is on.

The proposed assessments you can see in each of the three fiscal years it starts at 10 cents per square foot and increases one cent in each following year.

Want to clarify that the city does retain 5% of those funds for the administration from the finance and legal teams as well as my time administering the EID, and again, that those funds are put into a completely separate account that is only to be used for the EID.

It has no association with the general fund.

Beautification services and projects.

You can see some examples there.

Marketing services, you can think about social media newsletters, a more coordinated effort in how the information is shared within the district, maintenance services.

This is something that I really wanted to emphasize.

We've had conversations internally with our engineering teams and with our urban renewal staff about projects like Franklin and like Hawthorne and Second Street, future projects that are kind of come on, and there are potential avenues in which we could have installations occur, like pedestrian scale lighting, for example, or street furnishings, talking about the charrettes for the landings of the Hawthorne Bridge, these sorts of things that without a dedicated revenue stream for maintenance and operations of those assets, the city might not move forward with installing them.

So the intention of the EID is really for those funds to go towards the maintenance and operations and give us some confidence that they'll be cared for in the future.

Planning, promoting, executing public events.

I think you all have heard they're planning to do a street festival in the central district for the first time this year.

So this would definitely be effort to help aid in that effort moving forward.

Dedicated staffing to manage and coordinate activities.

As you all know, Rachel O'Rourke is the executive director of the Downtown Benefits Association.

I can't tell you how helpful it is to have someone that is dedicated in that role that I can help strategize with, answer questions, a lot of different inquiries come on, and that coordination piece I think is extremely valuable.

To be provided equally throughout the district, want to make sure that per state statute for how EIDs operate, the funds and the benefits need to be spread across all of the folks that are paying into the assessments.

It's not just in one area.

Some of the feedback that we've received so far want to talk about themes of support and themes of opposition.

First point being reliable revenue stream to maintain and operate capital investments.

That's uh related to the point I made earlier.

Interest in the additive services that are provided by the EID and improving safety, vibrancy, and beautification of the area.

Themes of opposition that I have heard and that I feel you have heard through some emails and letters that you have received, or that services provided by these funds are not needed in the central district at this time.

Heard some concerns over the governance of the Bend Central District Business Association.

We've heard from specific property owners that they feel like they already invest in their own individual properties, and so this broader umbrella of additive services isn't necessarily something that they see value in, and just overall cost generally.

Establishing an EID in the central district was included in the adopted core advisory board's goals, and it was also unanimously supported by the Bend Economic Development Advisory Board.

I think you all probably saw that the chamber had also supported this.

They're an execution v dut, but um had written in separately.

That's all I have.

Alright, so any questions on this presentation before we take public comment?

Go ahead.

Um have any uh how many property owners and like what percentage, how far are you to that 33%?

Because I know we've gotten a lot of letters of folks.

We have I would say we're between 400 and 450,000 square feet of opposition that we've received to date.

And in terms of percentage, though, what is that?

That's close to 33 percent.

It is so we're almost at the point where if we move forward today, the EID will basically just sit there on paper and they won't be able to collect funds.

Yeah, I think just a point to clarify is that all of the feedback we've received doesn't technically get reconciled until we get to the remonstrance hearing.

So for whatever reason, if someone's position changes or different information gets provided, or things can change between now and July 15th, but that's when the reconciliation actually occurs.

Okay, and has anyone changed their opposition to the we have received a fee.

But you know, although that's good.

Is TM the Brooks one of them?

There are other scenarios where we've heard from folks that they just need more information, and that's where me and folks from the BCDBA will set up one-on-one meetings just to clarify and answer any questions.

It there have been maybe, so we're curious, we need to know more before we feel like we can support it.

Just as a follow-up to that, umybody who has submitted objection to date, that objection will count at the July 13th hearing as part of the towards the third three.

So we don't have to resubmit because it's my point after tonight's hearing.

I guess correct.

Yeah, go ahead.

Sorry, I didn't ask this earlier, but the the city's properties are exempt.

That's correct.

That's not correct.

We pay into the EID.

Okay.

And what's the uh estimated um square footage of property that the city owns?

I don't have that available off the top of my head.

I'd be happy to share that with you, but it's a significant portion, and we also pay into the downtown EID as well.

Okay, thank you.

And it's commercially, it's commercial space, right?

On properties, not property.

Correct.

So physical land is developed commercial property that pays on this.

Any other questions on the presentation?

Okay.

Thank you.

Thanks for being here.

We have public comments.

And we'll come back to that.

Okay, Daniel, do you have a date for that event yet in July?

It's uh June 27th.

June 27th.

ECD block party, it's being put on by a layout events.

Awesome.

Okay, all right.

We've got four folks signed up for public comment, so we'll have you come on up now.

Um, and it's gonna be the same as we just saw for visitors' comment.

You have the two minutes.

Um, so we can start with um Sylvia McFarland and Lewis.

Do you want to come on up at the same time?

You can sit next to each other.

We'll give you each two minutes.

Thank you.

I'm Sylvia McFarland, and we own a multi-tenant industrial building.

I'm strongly opposed to the proposed midtown economic improvement district fee.

For every action you take, there will be a reaction.

Thirty years ago, I voted against measures 47 and 50.

But they passed as a reaction to local governments increasing property taxes.

As a result of measures 47 and 50, you are proposing to enact this regressive EID on top of the regressive transportation fee.

What will be the reaction?

At a minimum, you risk driving small industrial tenants out of Bend to Redmond and Lapine.

Asking industrial tenants to help pay to spruce up the neighborhood is a little like a family buying acreage in a farming area to build a large home and then complaining about the smell of the farm animals or the farming equipment littering the area.

Matching garbage cans, murals, andor festivals will not benefit the industrial tenants or their landlords.

Please put a stop to this proposed regressive EID.

All right, Lewis.

We own a multi-tenant building, uh industrial building at 1560 Northeast First, which is in the northwest corner of the uh the map.

I am strongly opposed to the proposed midtown economic improvement district.

Our tenants do not need more beautiful neighborhood.

This fee may benefit some of the developers and commercial users in the area.

It will not benefit the industrial tenants, most of whom do not have customers coming to their spaces.

In fact, it will speed up the departure of these businesses from the neighborhood and from Bend.

It appears the Bend Central District Business Association was created to promote an agenda that would benefit the developers and some of the commercial users in the area.

In their testimony, they said they consulted with the property owners in the district.

They did not talk to me or any of the industrial property owners that we've talked to.

They do not talk to me.

My guess is that they consulted with some of the 38 members of their association.

The combination of the 10 10 cents per square foot.

We are currently paying for the transportation fee, the additional anticipated five cents for Paris foot for the fee, which will go up in August, and the proposed additional 10% square foot for the EID is equivalent to a 35.5% increase in our property taxes.

This is a big hit that does nothing for the industrial buildings in the district or the tenants in these industrial buildings.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, Randy Windlitz, sorry.

And then after Randy will be James Floyd.

Wave it.

Hello, thank you for the opportunity to address folks over the CID.

So to correct Cyrus Mooney, uh we have proof of 782,035 square feet that's been submitted to CIRS in opposition to the EID, which exceeds the minimum 535,310 33%, which is the third required under the state statute.

So at this point, it's a dead issue.

So any modifications or anything you're going to do tonight moving forward, it's dead.

And whatever you do, we're going to continue to fight it.

And we're getting more signatures as time goes by, so this number is going to go up.

This is confirmed.

Submittals.

Probably exceed 100 to 150 on top of this.

So we're rapidly approaching 1 million square feet in opposition.

The other issue is you better check your state statute and your compliance with the state statute because city ordinance and the way this ordinance is proposed is not compliant with state statute.

I'm not going to go into the details by verbalizing this.

I am going to write a detailed letter where this is in is not compliant, and therefore whatever is adopted where they do these multiple projects for general taxing for a general fund is not the state intention of these EIB ordinances.

They're designed for one project with a duration of the project with a funding of the project that gives specific benefit to properties where the projects are going to be built or completed, and those properties that are benefited by it are the ones that receive the assessment.

Not a general area, such as what we have in the whole district, is what they took in.

Thank you, Randy.

That's part of your time.

So send us your further comments, please go ahead and do that as well.

Thank you.

All right, James Floyd.

Well, I suppose waving us in the air, so you got it.

Gotcha.

I couldn't hear very good sitting back there.

So I might repeat something that's already said.

49 years a real estate broker, 23 years a mortgage broker, build a number of houses, a real estate investor in Oregon and other states.

I'm not an expert at anything, but I've done a lot of things.

So anyway, my wife and I own uh pretty good sized piece of ground over on the each side here.

Cascade Professional Center.

And we've owned it for about 20 two years, I think.

We've got over 14,000 square feet of buildings over there.

I think we've got seven buildings there and two more commercial buildings on uh Greenwood.

A total of about 20,000 square feet.

You know, it's not easy being in the commercial real estate business.

It's not easy at all.

It's hard to keep your tenants, it's hard to attract new tenants.

And uh boy, we've had a lot of tenants.

I own I own a business center also, and they come and go.

But we do have a lot of medical tenants uh medical related, we've got dentists and doctors and psychotherapist and on and on and on.

So I'm familiar with with all of that.

Uh I manage all of those.

Um we don't know.

You got about 10 seconds, Jim.

Give us your final thought.

Well, I'm just I want to tell you our taxes are uh I don't know, between 40 and 50,000 a year, and that's a lot of money.

And to have more expected of us when we're paying those kind of taxes here, it's just not it's not feasible.

Uh and I sent a letter to the to all of you.

Did you get it?

Yeah, we did.

So you know what was said in that letter.

Okay, but these beautification projects and all this stuff that's written on right here.

That's not gonna do us any good at all.

This isn't the downtown area.

That's not the kind of people we have.

These are hardworking professional people, and uh they can't afford any more than that they're paying.

In fact, I've got a building now that's been vacant for a year and a half, and I've got several other tenants are spaces that are vacant right now.

So thank you, James.

It's hard, it's really hard.

We don't need a necessary more taxes, and that's just what this is.

Thank you, we we don't need it, and we don't want it.

Got it.

Thank you.

Okay, all right.

That's the end of uh the public comment on the EID.

So, unless there's any other questions for staff, I'm gonna close the public hearing and we can go to deliberation.

All right, hearing none, I'll close the public hearing and we can deliberate and go to a motion.

Sorry, go ahead.

Um I'm the now I'm the council liaison to the Ben Central District Business Association, so I've been going to their meetings since January, and I uh I was very supportive of moving forward with the EID as it's crafted, but honestly, um, some of the concerns that have come in to us by email.

I've even met with some folks who have emailed us and some of the folks tonight, just we didn't it's never come up in conversation as kind of as concerns, you know.

So it it sort of um worries me that we're making a decision about something when these concerns have been are being raised now, and we haven't really vetted those or we're anticipating kind of that potential negative outcome, like the impact on industrial.

I mean, we're working the city has also got a parallel plan working really hard trying to create family wage jobs, but here we are kind of putting some impacts on some of these businesses.

So I also uh want to mention um you know one of the concerns that wasn't in Cyrus' presentation, you know, came from some very thoughtful developers that have you know hundreds of millions of dollars basically sitting on the sidelines in the core area waiting for the you know so the city to kind of fulfill some of its promises on that urban renewal area, um, and and we're just not kind of moving on those promises.

So um so those developers are sort of sitting on the sideline, and this was um so essentially you know that what they feel is that the EID, you know, while it will be needed at some point in the core area now is not the time.

The time right now is to actually move forward with the urban renewal plan and demonstrate some progress with that.

So um I am gonna get a lot of flack from the um Ben Central District Business Association for this, but um I feel like this needs more work because tonight what we're voting on is a map outline, um, and so that impacts these property owners, and I feel like that needs more vetting.

Um, and I know this is I mean, Ian could probably explain like this is the kind of process there was a mail, there was there's mailing that goes out, there's a time period that has to be followed, there's a notice and all this stuff.

I know it's a lot, it's a lift and it's a level of effort, but I I don't think uh we should I don't think we should keep moving forward.

I think we have to rethink it.

Or maybe you know, and an alternative too is that if we don't move forward tonight, or maybe a question for you is if we don't move forward tonight, um, and we do some vetting that makes me and maybe others, I don't know if others have the same concerns as I.

But if we do that vetting and we decide we want to go forward with the EID as advertised, you know, can we can we bring this back for a vote at a later date?

Yeah, council has options um, including that uh council can also not adopt the ordinance.

I mean, I will say there's there's a there are myriad options.

One of them, and I think this goes to a question or a point you were making earlier, Counselor Francis, is if council does adopt this ordinance establishing the EID and the process rolls forward, notices go out, the remonstrance hearing that would then be noticed and occur on July 15th.

If the I'll call them the objectors cross that 33% threshold and the assessment is rejected, council could then a subsequent meeting terminate the EID.

So there's an option to sort of keep going if the buy-in isn't there as demonstrated on July 15th when everything is finally counted, um, if that's the way the cookie crumbles, council could then terminate the EID and do some of that work to try again.

So that's an option too.

But I mean, effectively the EID's uh sort of a moot point.

I mean, it exists in concept, but without a resource based, it's effectively doesn't exist.

Yeah, but maybe better to not have a zombie EID sitting in.

Maybe sure.

Okay.

Other thoughts, Constance.

Well, and I just asked a question.

I mean, um, what are there if you could name the two or three most important concerns you think are still unresolved that you've heard that have persuaded you to oppose this at this point?

Can you articulate those a little more specifically?

Yeah, I think it's the impact to the industrial tenants, and then I think it's also um the city very clearly articulating uh what we're doing and when folks can um expect to see progress on the ground um in the urban renewal area.

Yeah.

And so on that second thing, did you in terms of you know moving forward with urban renewal projects versus um the benefits of an economic improvement district?

It sounds like you're saying some of the the tenants, the developers would rather see movement on urban renewal projects.

I mean, those isn't an either-or, though.

This is uh is it just a question of timing or focus, or what does that look like?

Well, I think so.

I think some of the things in the urban renewal area would include um more extensive infrastructure and comprehensive infrastructure, so not this segment of second street is nice, but it's a very short segment, and it it doesn't really interconnect with too much.

So it's it's not the foundation by which development is gonna blossom.

You know, now Franklin is coming through, so that will make some improvements, but I mean, even the design of Franklin, we talked about it extensively, it actually doesn't follow what was in the urban renewal plan.

You know, we kind of had to ask for some changes.

Taylor Brooks had to really lobby for on-street parking.

You know, it's not like the kind of walkable boulevard, you know, that is was sort of promised in the urban renewal plan for the core area.

Um, and then I mean, some other things are you know, the the city's ownership of that land and what the city is planning on doing with that land, you know, so maybe what comes out of the highest and best use, and once we make some decisions about how to move forward, if we're moving forward with a new city hall, like that might help give folks some uh sense of what you know what the city's intention in the in the core area is.

Those are some examples, there's more, but um yeah.

Well, thanks for that.

I mean, I I think the the question of industrial tenants is is challenging because as the needs of an area grow, sometimes I think it's reasonable to expect that sometimes there's a little bit of a mismatch in terms of existing use and potential uses, and um, you know, it's that's uncomfortable.

Um but I think for me it's not a question of if it's a question of when.

And so I'm I'm open to the idea of of delaying, but it I do think this is part of an important goal for the city.

Um it's just a question of of when.

Okay.

Other comments?

Hold on from let me go to Steve.

I one of the things that I'm I think I'm not interested in doing is establishing EID and then not going forth with the remonstrance because I I asked this question specifically the to Cyrus a little bit ago and say what what would be the value?

Could we do that?

And this is the zombie ID concept.

I understand that that that's a it's a fair amount of city expenditure at least to notice and get that out.

There's some public dollars that are spent in this case right here, and then the cost basis at a later date could adjust, and we would have to sort of redo that whole process again if I'm if I'm understanding that correctly.

So I I guess I would either like to move forward because we think it's gonna happen, or completely pause and not expend the public funds to to notice and do those kinds of things.

So that's where I'm sitting on that.

Other thoughts?

Mike, did you have that thought?

Go ahead.

I mean, I I'm comfortable moving forward with the proposal that's before us.

Um I think it's very clear that we may have a growing opposition for the reasons that we've heard tonight from the commenters and from some of the stuff that Councillor Francosa's articulated.

Um, and if that's the case, we won't have funding for it.

I do think then we'll need to consider if we're going to not you know leave a zombie thing or or remove it from the code and then essentially start over.

But even if we were to keep it in a code, I think the message is would be relatively clear that some more work and community building and understanding of how this is going to benefit the district would need to occur in order for us to put this forward again at some future point.

We'd probably need to wait uh you know a significant amount of time, I think, to kind of look you know learn what that is and and propose something different.

Um, so I'm comfortable moving forward with it.

I think um some of the concerns I heard from sort of the more developer side of the community.

I I didn't necessarily hear opposition to this, I heard questions, and I thought their questions had been largely answered.

I have not heard that correctly from um the two developers that I met with.

So I I heard questions, not opposition.

Um I do agree with what Councillor Frances has said about we have a lot of work to do to get things moving in the central district, and I think it involves how we're using our land, and I know that we have a variety of things in process right now that are gonna help us ideally make some of those decisions be able to put a plan forward, even if it's gonna take a while to implement all of it within the next six months or so.

So that's important progress.

But I don't think um the EID needs to necessarily wait for that.

There is some chicken and egg stuff here, and I think there's some momentum that can happen for a lot of existing businesses in that district already that are looking to benefit from some of this.

So we do need to make more happen in the central district.

That's in play.

Um, and I'm hoping that we will move faster with that.

I agree with that completely.

And I think it's you know how we use our property, how do we make some investments with the money we have with Borough and uh with Cav's direction and involvement um and um you know what could what what House needs to happen on the infrastructure side.

So yeah, okay.

Yeah, I mean I would just say I uh I don't think it's that moving forward with urban renewal projects in the central district and and moving forward with an EID are are mutually exclusive.

I think that they are complementary of one another.

Um and so I'm in favor, similar to Mike, I'm in favor of going forward and and um and seeing what what um questions can turn into um either opposition full opposition or or support um when we do the remonstrance hearings.

I think yeah, and I just I feel comfortable.

I mean, I think that we have that 33% in place for a reason.

Um I think that we need to be using all the tools in the toolbox uh to help activate this area, because I'm comfortable in moving forward, and if there's the opposition that meets that threshold, then we'll we can take another look at it.

Okay, yeah, um, I think I'm comfortable moving forward tonight and just continuing the process and continuing to talk with people and hear the concerns and also hear why people support it because we need to know there are folks that support it, most notably our two advisory boards and the the Bend uh Central Dis District Business Association.

Um and I was previously liaison to the BCDBA, and I've sort of seen the development of how this has improved over the years and how there has been some momentum in what's going on in that area.

And I'm sure I'm very excited about um events that activate that area.

And I think that's one aspect of the CID, but I think one thing that's really important to remember too is is now the DBBA liaison is that there's a basic level of maintenance, cleaning the streets, having a presence, you know, advocating for um things that are needed on all of the different streets that that does benefit everybody no matter what building type you have.

And and I know um a couple of us went down to a small business owner that um is mostly in that sort of industrial, she makes her product there, occasionally has folks walk in and could really use you know some of that um sort of livability help on the street that she's on, um, even though they're not really having a commercial business right there.

So um I think um I think we should keep it moving forward.

Um we know the BCDBA um you know has heard these concerns, has has work to do to talk, keep talking to owners about what the benefits are here and how it can benefit everybody.

Um, and then we'll we'll see what we get with the the vote and we can move from there.

But so uh it's sometimes um sometimes when in my previous work you had to set the trial to get things to happen.

Sometimes you have to put the ordinance out, make it concrete, and then sort of start to go from there.

So I think I'm okay with moving it forward tonight.

Um and I think we'll continue our investments in the area.

Um, you know, ever since Megan and I joined the council, the core area has been a focus in it actually enacting the core area plan, and um I think both the city buying property and the infrastructure, which also no one has mentioned um our ability to win federal and state grant money to put um an activating bike fed bridge that will connect this area to downtown, it is going to be part of the economic development of the core is also coming.

Um so I think that's part of the momentum that I'm thinking about as well, as far as having this tool on the books.

So all right, any further comments or ready for a motion?

I move for the first reading of an ordinance to establish an economic improvement district in the Bend Central District.

Second.

All right, move by Councillor Perkins, second by council Riley.

Any further discussion?

All right.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed?

Two opposed.

Okay.

All right, thank you, everyone.

Thank you for being here and for providing your comments.

And if there's anything else you want to send us, please continue to send us your comments, and we'll continue to continue to consider those.

All right.

That will move us on to item number six.

This is the first reading of an ordinance on text amendments to bend development code 3.6.500 short-term cycles.

All right, so this is related to a public hearing that we held in April.

So Ian, I'm gonna have you summarize just for us what we've been through, how we got here.

Yeah, thanks, Mayor.

Um public hearing occurred at the April 15th council meeting.

The public hearing closed at that meeting.

The council opted after there were, I think, at least several requests to do so to leave the written record open.

So the written record was held open until April 22nd for new information.

It was open through a second open record period until April 29th for information responding to the new information again.

That's all in writing, that's all been uploaded to City View, the record fully closed on April 29th, and we're back here tonight for council to deliberate.

Um, Pauline Hardy from the planning division is here.

I'm here.

We're here mainly to try to help guide and answer questions.

But again, since the public hearing is uh concluded and the records closed, no public testimony, no public comment.

Um I'm gonna mention that there has been one, maybe maybe two, but at least one request from one of the parties who has commented and submitted things into the record.

Um that council reopened the record.

They are waiting for some more information through a public record request that the city recorder's office is processing whether to reopen the record is completely within council's discretion.

You don't have to discuss that tonight at all.

Um if you do, you can reopen it or not.

But I wanted to make sure that you were aware of that uh request.

All right, thank you.

Um, so council, if you can recall back to this hearing and also the uh all the inputs that we've received, we can go ahead and deliberate.

Are we it says motion or sorry presentation by C or there's no there's no presentation at this time, yeah.

Yeah, or presentation of this.

Here it is.

There it is.

Yeah, okay.

I um would uh like to actually make an alternative motion, um, and that is to uh withdraw the application, um, which is our purview as the city application as the applicant, yeah, essentially.

And so um, before I actually make that formal motion, I just want to give a little uh sort of preambles to why.

Um primarily uh it's because this um feels like a very targeted action and not sort of setting a citywide sort of policy direction that fairly and equitably impacts neighborhoods and commercial development um citywide.

Uh this kind of picks winners and losers in Old Bend, and as much as I level bend, really uh short-term rentals on commercial land um need to be addressed in every neighborhood, not just in Old Bend.

Um so, and I and I do hope that we will take action on that um in a very deliberative process that kind of balances the economic reality of neighborhood commercial development, um, which we've which we've discussed and we've actually directed staff to work on.

Um, so I also kind of want to mention that that um the practical outcome of of this decision disallowing um short-term rentals and commercial development uh actually does contradict the direction that we gave to staff because it creates a barrier actually to neighborhood commercial.

We've heard from developers that um this helps their pro forma's work and they could make their pro forma work actually without asking the city for money to do it, um, and they would be creating neighborhood commercial space in a walkable bikeable neighborhood.

Um I also uh before I make my motion, I just want to speak because I know Councillor Mendes had made um a suggestion to try to find a compromise.

And again, I I just don't see how we can find a compromise, like what percentage of units as STRs or you know, total maximum number on property would be fair in in this process.

Like I think that needs to be more deliberative with um public input and and collaboration also with development um folks.

So um, so with that, I would like to make a motion to withdraw the application in PLTEXT 20250659 and authorize staff to take all necessary steps uh to withdraw it.

I will suck at that.

Okay, we have a motion and a second further discussion.

Council.

I'd like to respond to the mind.

Oh, okay.

Well, I think so I gave some thought to this too, and I think um the we heard pretty clearly from uh a lot of residents who um feel that their neighborhood is overrun with STRs, and we don't have a good sense of you know whether that is representative or if that's a majority sentiment.

Um but pulling the numbers, um old bend does have a lot of STRs.

It's not the most in Bend.

I think it's actually the third most by neighborhood district, but because old Bend is so small, it maybe I mean it's a dense number of STRs.

And in part that's because there's so many uh legacy STRs as well.

So the concern that I had with making a suggestion about a some kind of middle ground compromise was based partly on the idea that as it stands now.

I mean, it's sort of a weird old legacy zone itself.

Um someone could potentially have an unlimited number of STRs, which I think would be maybe not the best intention for that neighborhood.

Um so I do think there might be room for some kind of reasonable either CAP or ratio.

What do you think of that idea?

I so actually what I'd like to address is like the the legacy commercial neighborhood zone.

Um I think that council has evolved since the time the comprehensive plan was written, and we're now actively working really hard, and staff is working really hard to try to find ways to uh get neighborhood commercial.

So I think if we were to redo the comprehensive plan, those parcels would probably not be weird, they would probably be like a commercial convenience, not commercial convenience, but like commercial like something like what we see on Newport Avenue, something like that.

Um and wouldn't have the weird uh medium density residential overlay.

Um I think we would we would actively try to maintain those properties as neighborhoods because that's kind of our intention is to get these into different neighborhoods.

So yeah, so in that case, then I think it becomes the same as basically every other commercial neighborhood lot around town, and I think we should look at it in a very deliberative process with with much more data that and make kind of a citywide policy decision about it, not a this is the purpose of a commercial zone, not SPRs.

Um, not necessarily like a you could have a bed and breakfast or a hotel or something like that.

I mean, yeah, I think, but I think the idea is to try to get retail on the on the ground floor.

Um I don't support that.

I I think we need to make a decision one way or the other on this.

Um you know, if we choose to withdraw the application, we're the decision that we're making is to keep the current code in place, which does allow all the units that might be in a redevelopment proposal to become STR.

There are no limits whatsoever.

Um and I generally don't think that's consistent with the priorities that we've set as a council around short-term rentals.

We've generally said that we're not wanting to prioritize having more of those in our community because we want more long-term housing.

I can get into I have a different alternative that I propose for tonight.

Um because I think what we want to get is you know, maybe we get some STRs, but I think we want to get is also if something is going to redevelopment, redevelop some of the units to be long-term rentals as well.

Um I think that's the goal.

And if STRs help us get there, I'm okay with that.

So I'm not okay leaving it as is.

Um which which is essentially just withdrawing the application.

Okay.

Otherwise, before we vote, because I'm not sure.

Hold on, Councillor Mendes.

Let me just make sure there's not any comments on this side, and then I'll come back to you.

Any comments over here on the motion on the floor, which is to withdraw the application.

I I guess it's just a process question on the motion that's on the floor.

Um, if we were to withdraw the application, would there be some kind of a uh a timeline that we could agree to as council to deal with the larger?

We could discuss that after we get through the public hearing.

Okay, okay, council mendis.

So before we vote, because I think my vote is contingent on knowing whether there would be a majority of other counselors who would be in support of some kind of compromise or middle ground, something like 25% of uh a development could be allocated, or 50% even could be allocated to STRs, and the rest would be long-term residential uses.

For example, is there majority support for that?

Because if there's not I mean, I I well I I would probably vote differently.

It's kind of a point of order if we can straw poll on a motion while we're discussing a previous motion.

I think it's I think it's fine to ask that question.

I think people are obligated to respond.

It's it's part of the discussion.

Sure, I think it's fine.

Um as I said, I would support a compromise like that.

So sort of in between.

Yeah, I mean, I'm just really struggling, so I don't um you know I've learned I've lived across from a short-term rental, so I understand the frustrations and the comings and goings.

Um I also get buying a piece of property and counting on that investment.

Um so I'm that's where I am.

I'm yeah, a little on the fence.

Um I think I've been saying from the beginning I don't like legislating by one project, and that's what I feel like this is.

Um, and so I'm okay with withdrawing at this point.

Um, I think uh we've also been advised, you know, we could face litigation either way if we make a decision at this point because of how sort of entrenched I think folks have gotten about this, and I think there's a better way to find um a policy win here that so I'm okay with withdrawing at this point.

Any further discussion on the motion to withdraw before we take a vote?

I'll just respond to Councillor Platte though.

I mean, I'm to be delighted to join you in an agenda request to put short-term rentals and commercial and mixed deals, how to regulate that appropriately on the agenda on the near term calendar.

So any further discussion, or we'll take a vote on the motion.

So the motion on the floor is to withdraw the application as requested by Councilor Franzosa.

Um all those in favor, raise your hand and say aye.

Aye, aye.

Okay.

And opposed.

Nay.

Okay.

So the motion carries and the application is withdrawn.

And that will end our public hearing.

Ian, officially.

Yeah, that's okay.

That item's resolved.

Okay.

Um, and so then I think um for further discussion of SDR policy, I do want to point out that it passed council fairly recently, um, took up this issue, took a look at how many SDRs there are in Bend, took a look at tightening up the restrictions, did so, and what we are seeing is a flattening out of those new SDRs coming online and some attrition as some of them go away due to the bigger the size limit.

Um, so with that said, want to recognize also there's these areas where there was grandfathered in, which are a little bit different and have the higher density.

So I think a conversation um I'd be open to thinking about that.

I do want to point out it is it is not in our goals, right, to take that subject up.

So we just need to think about that.

But there is no barrier to um as has been discussed, bringing that up in the future.

Okay.

So I mean, if somebody wants to do that, somebody wants to have a discussion about the in particular the grandfathered portion, they would need to bring it as a formal work session agenda to us first, and then we'd have a discussion and decide if we want it as a majority.

I think so.

That's how we got here in the first place.

I know another city has done that, at least one.

Hood River has done it.

Yeah, they have maybe some different circumstances up there in a variety of different ways.

But there's maybe sort of two pathways.

I think as council friends also said you can sort of look at the STR issue as a you know, maybe specifically the legacy issue if they if you want to define it that way, be helpful for staff to hear kind of where what the focus is, or there is the neighborhood commercial pathway, or if you want to look at just sort of uses and regulations on not just this NC or name commercial as a whole, so it's commercial as a whole.

Right, right.

There's two different ways.

Yeah, so I'd love to have some direction from you can maybe it should think about it.

If people come with a request, I will be thinking about that one.

I will say I'm much more open to thinking about comprehensive plan changes, growth plan work, other things than then maybe the target SCR.

But folks can bring back that subject in the future if we want to take that.

Okay.

All right.

That will end um our work on item number six.

Thanks everybody for being here.

And then we will move to item number seven.

Council is asked to authorize a contact with Taylor Northwest LLC for the construction of the Southeast Ninth Street, Northeast Bear Creek Road and Southeast 15th Street North sections of the Bend Bikeway project.

And an amount not to see 2,264,529.

Perfect.

Evening council, right here, City of End.

I'm supported this evening by Kevin Howard, project engineer for the project we're about to discuss.

And so just higher level, this is a continuation of what we commonly refer to as Bend Bikeways or Bicycle Greenways.

It's going gone by many names.

But this uh contributes to the council goal of one north-south, one east-west protected um in separated system.

The motion before you, just so you have it in the back of mind as we go through the the next five or six slides.

Um it's just as actually read, it's just uh a contract with Taylor Northwest for just over two million dollars, um, which did come in under our engineer's estimate.

So good news on that one.

So with that, I'll hand it over to Kevin.

Yeah.

Uh thank you, Ryan.

Yep.

So tonight we there's three separate segments of shared use path uh adjacent to the three separate um isolated roads.

Um well two of the segments of path contribute to the the crosstown goals for those north-south and east-west routes.

And then there's a another project that's kind of tagging along uh in this effort on 9th Street, that's a general obligation bond project between uh Wilson and Reed.

We'll hear a little about all three of these.

There's uh the first one is on Southeast 15th Street.

It's identified as north of Reed because they're also there's another Ben Bikeway project south of Reed that'll be coming to it'll be a construction contract coming to council um in a month or two from now.

But right now, this this focus is just north of Reed.

It's really just a one-block section of path between Larkspur Park and the new Larksburg apartments.

Uh it's funded by a safe route to school grant, and this particular project, the completion date is the end of September of this year.

There's there'll be a different completion date for each of the three projects, uh sub-projects that we have in this contract.

Uh next one's north northeast Bear Creek Road.

This is between Northeast Alpen View and Northeast Craven Road.

Um Alpenview is right by where the Larksburg Trail joins Bear Creek, so right south of the existing marked crossing shown in this map at the bottom left-hand side.

This is also a safe route to school project with uh completion designated for by uh October 30th this year.

And Southeast Ninth Street.

This one is the GoBond project.

Again, it's not on the Ben Bikeway routes, but it is a key route project.

Uh it's between Reed Market Road and the South and Wilson Avenue in the north.

Uh this path will be on the west side of the road adjacent to the railroad property.

Uh to the north, it'll connect the path will connect directly to the uh protected bike lane roundabout at Wilson and 9th.

And to the north, we're uh ending the path pretty far north of Reed Market currently, so we allow some flexibility to connect to the Reed uh railroad overpass overcrossing bridge project, and it's likely that this path would get continued by that project underneath the raised bridge to the south side of Reed.

And this one plan to be finished by the end of November of this year.

Uh that's yeah, it's overview of the three path projects.

Uh just look at the budget.

Table on the left-hand side is the overall budget for the Ben Bikeway project, which includes these three paths as well as uh a slew of other projects that I think we've we've tried to inform council of over the last two or three years.

So the the highlight here is uh on that left-hand side there's the $700,000 uh for the safe route to school grants.

And that that money is tied to the work on Northeast Bear Creek and Northeast 15th Street, north of Reed that's included in this contract.

Um the table on the right is is breaking down just the money spent and what this contract looks like specifically for the work on these three path projects.

So that that number, the design fee is just uh uh a portion of the design contract allocated to these projects.

Um that's it in a nutshell.

Okay.

Any questions we can answer?

Any questions, council?

Um it was walk and roll to school day at Bear Creek today.

And there's they always have very good turnout because they're very consistent that they have that, and um especially that path on uh Bear Creek itself.

But also the larks, the one that connects the Marksburg are gonna be great.

And I know um several people have spoken to me about 9th Street, and I've always been excited to tell them that we will be fixing that.

So we're gonna get going on that and eventually we'll be connected, but that's great.

Yeah.

And Catherine and I rode down to the uh Earth Day down uh down 15th, and I was telling her it's gonna be better.

So I'm really excited about this project.

Yeah.

And if you go down 15th now, you'll see that the the wildflower area where the partners are going up, they're putting in that multiple.

So they're doing part, we're doing part with our funding as well.

And then South of Reed, the 15th and Ferguson roundabout project.

We'll be putting everything up to Reed Market.

Yeah, so we'll have to corridor all the way down and not.

That's gonna be fantastic.

Yeah, it's finally coming together.

Yeah, yeah.

All right, ready for a motion.

I moved to authorize a contract with Taylor Northwest LLC and substantially the form presented to council for the construction of the Southeast Ninth Street, Northeast Bear Creek Road, and Southeast 15th Street North sections of the Bend Bikeway project in an amount not to exceed two million two million two hundred and sixty-four thousand five hundred and twenty-nine dollars.

Second.

All right, move by council Riley, second by councilor Mendez.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Alrighty.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

And then we have one second reading.

This is the second reading of an ordinance to amend Ben Development Code to amend Article 28 timber yards master plan development.

I move for the second reading and adoption by roll call vote of the ordinance to amend the Bend Development Code to amend Article 28 timber yards master plan development.

Second.

All right, move by Council Norse, second by Councilor Platt.

Roll call vote.

Counselor Franzosa.

Yes.

Counselor Mendez.

Hi.

Councilor Riley.

Yes.

Mayor Proten Perkins.

Yes.

Counselor Norris.

Yes.

Counselor Platt.

Hi.

Mayor Keebler.

Yes.

Okay.

So then we have City Manager's report before we go to Borough.

Yes.

Just a couple of sort of announcements.

Well, actually, one scheduling issue.

So we have a meeting on June 3rd is regularly scheduled.

Uh we have a supplemental budget.

So this is just the opportunity for us to, we have state law that requires us to hold hearings on the tax rates.

A fairly mundane kind of thing.

We also want to give you just an update as we're halfway through the biannual budget and invite the budget committee on June 3rd.

But in order to do that and kind of fit we everything in, remember June 3rd is also the public hearing for the ordinance on the um carbon impact fee.

So wanted to make sure it was okay.

We'd start at 5 30.

So we do that first.

Do the budget at 530.

Budget at 530.

Are you okay with that?

No, we we were trying to clear the deck.

We're trying to clear the we do need to do this budget thing, the timing on it.

This one is a timing.

We would have loved to not collide these things with their budget.

So not an executive session, at least at this point plan.

No, we'll find exactly.

So this is just it's a 5 30 um start time.

Yeah, dinner at five.

That's okay.

Everybody can make time.

Um also wanted to on the financial uh sort of perspective.

Uh, we had our standards and poor's uh SP uh rating for our water bonds.

Uh we re got a re reaffirmation of our uh double A plus rating on the city's revenue bonds with a stable outlook.

Um, the ratings letter uh which I'll share in the memo cited kind of some of the key findings, which included continued strength and financial performance, particularly debt service coverage ratios, demonstrated water conservation efforts and some water scarcity risk assessments with all the work that we've been doing.

I think it's not just the financial, it's also our efforts towards conservation, stable reserve levels, uh comprehensive capital planning and long-range financial planning that factors in cost service, future water demand, and proactive asset life extension.

So that was good news.

Um, and just to echo the mayor on the wildfire emergency, kind of on that theme of protecting our assets.

So we had the meeting today about how we can, you know, our sewer pump stations, water pump stations, uh the issue of power and wildfire and community preparedness, it is very real.

I've been in lots of conversations over the last couple of weeks to make sure that we are well prepared as a community for that weekend.

Um just always ask for help to do that, so echo that.

Uh, call to action from our community.

And then just to let Council know, we have our first transit work group meeting uh this Friday.

So we are that includes Councillor Mendez and Council Riley along with CET.

I'd also like to include our uh member, a representative from our um City Band Accessibility Advisory Committee as well.

So we're working on that to bring that voice in as well.

All right, with that, we'll adjourn the city council meeting.

Let's take five for bathroom break, come back with that.

So I'm gonna call to order this meeting of the Banned Urban Renewal Agency for what is it, May 6, 2026?

Do we need to do introduction?

So we're all still here.

We're all still here.

Okay.

So I need a motion for the minutes from the last from the meetings listed here.

I move to approve the very meeting minute.

Second.

So I'm Owen Kebler.

Further discussion.

Those in favor?

I motion passed.

Okay.

And then we don't have action tonight.

Jonathan just gonna talk to us about kind of direction on this question about the loan program and the kind of values for it as overall program.

Good evening, Chair, members of the agency, Jonathan Taylor, Urban Renewal.

Tonight we're gonna talk about the first reiteration of a loan program development for the Urban Renewal Agency.

So tonight's consideration, as the chair said, is only two questions.

Is Burra interested in moving forward with this program development concept?

And then as we go through the presentation, are there any additional considerations staff should include in the loan program development?

Real quick, this is part of the six-month structured approach for developing incentive programs for Burr's five-year mission and 2030 targeted community return goals in just a brief, you know, build 1,000 multifamily units, creation of 500 jobs, and assist 20 new small businesses are one of the three or three of the eight listed there.

A recap of our timeline on March 4th, Borough had a work session that outlined grants, loans, and rebates.

This is one of those reiterations.

Borough will preview the loan site specific in grants.

We'll do another round of stakeholder outreach with a tentative borough approval sometime in September.

Just a little bit of background.

Excuse me, all adopted TIFF plans allow loan programs.

Uh the Borough Strategic Investment Plan, which was adopted in December, authorized loans and grants with 5.3 million in the core area, 6 million in Juniper Ridge, and 1.5 million in Murphy Crossing.

You gave direction on March 4th to provide data and some broad criteria for the loans, and that's why we're here tonight.

Just a reiteration, loans is a financial agreement in which a lender provides funds to a borrower under agreed to repayment terms.

This is gap financing for uh these small businesses.

Just so what are some of the funding needs and outcomes?

So percentages may not equal to 100 due to the rounding for the survey, but only 51% had funding needs met, and 34% had some sort of financing financing shortfall.

And this is where we get into a little bit of an equity issue.

What are the shares of applicants that were fully approved?

So younger firms only had a 48% that were fully approved.

But then when you look at uh specific demographics, Asian Hispanic and non-Hispanic black had lower approval rates that were fully approved than compared to their white counterparts.

So we are modeling the loan program values around five core tenants.

We want to loan value one is just to close the financial gaps, not to compete with local lending institutions.

We want these programs to be where businesses stay and grow with their bank.

This is where we provide gap financing.

So they go to their lenders first, and then whatever the gap is, they come and apply for a borough loan program.

We want to bring in underfunded businesses.

So how do we design eligibility to criteria around documented market failures?

So geographic locations, specific types of businesses, and/or length and credit history of those businesses.

We want to create business self-sufficiency.

This is also an economic development strategic plan goal.

The goal isn't repayment, it's a graduation to conventional credit.

So if BOA does authorize this type of concept, I'll be reaching out to COIC and COCC, CRAFT 3, and MESO to talk about how do we educate these newer businesses or these underserved businesses through the whole credit and business development pipeline.

As always, we want to leverage TIFF revenues.

So we want to insulate each plan's fund with a revolving loan income.

So when these loans come back in, we can pair that with existing TIFF revenues, and/or it could be a standalone product that Borough may wish to deploy elsewhere.

And then efficiency and speed.

This is also an equity feature.

Speed, borrowers can't wait months.

They need credit, oftentimes immediately.

So with every borough decision that is uh focused on investments, speed and efficiency should be accorded to a core value.

So we're proposing at this point three proposed loan programs.

One is a micro loan program.

This supports newer high-risk and non-bankable small businesses.

Non-bankable means that they're not accessible traditional lenders.

So what you would think of a food cart pod or a new restaurant business, so forth.

Then a small business loan.

We want to support businesses that may be more mature or advanced to complete projects, but that may not be fully financed as you saw with some of the data.

And then a pre-development loan.

So in one of our conversations that we've had with architects and engineers for core area development is oftentimes pre-development, which is the prior construction cost engineering architectural firms, they often upfront their own credit to a project, and then when the project gets construction financing, they pay off those lines of credit.

This is where it can kind of come in and meet both needs of those things.

So it's support early stage project ready activities that help advance redevelopment within designated urban renewal areas.

Jonathan, could you just talk a little bit about the limits on how these loan funds can be used given that it's generated by TIFF revenue versus ACOIC products?

Which can work for cash flow, but not here.

That is correct.

So oftentimes most urban renewal loan programs on the initial investment has to be primarily used for hard capital and/or the prevention of blight.

So there's a little bit of nuance on that latter part, but a rule of thumb is equipment purchases, FF and E's, uh building renovations, uh relocation fees, etc.

Anything that a normal TIFF plan would authorize, but then when repayment happens, you had a little bit more flexibility because the TIFF is unrestricted.

So because the cash came in from the business back to you, yeah, that cash is a little more flexible.

Correct.

Okay.

But so a business is just essentially struggling with kind of meeting their cash loan needs and little needs and a little more operating capital.

That's not this program is not going to serve them probably.

Correct.

On the first phase, this would be second phase.

That's a few years ago.

Yes.

And so as we went through this, um, staff would like to know if there are any additional considerations during this concept development that we'll bring back for further review utilizing urban renewal dollars.

And then lastly, before we get into the concept, um, we are working with the loan program guidelines with CAB because they're the primary urban renewal advisory body.

But then after we have some sort of like tentative guideline, we'll gather feedback from our local lenders, community partners, and BDAB, and then we will bring back for borough review and consideration.

This is also in tandem of other programs that are both in development and research for that March 4th meeting.

We have the small facade grant program, commercial grant, tenant improvement grant, a relocation, and then the site-specific issues.

So I just I think this is really great.

And I think the idea of that gap financing or supporting new businesses that maybe can't get as much credit because they don't have a history.

Um I think that's what's really going to help activate and and and help in all these TIF areas.

So I don't know if there um is a business size that you're thinking with some of these loans, but um it would be nice if it was you know in that small business category as much as possible, right?

And it's it sounds like that's where it will end up.

But um, you know, a large corporation or a large a really large company, it seems like this is gonna get a better um return for us in ROI if we're talking about smaller businesses, and that's the core of a lot of our economy.

So but I'm I'm really supportive, and I think um I've all the values you listed as well.

I totally agree with.

So I mean I think the pre-development loan, those would be up to $750,000 potentially, right?

Just below the goalie the prevailing wage threshold.

So that could be for bigger projects, you know, in our community.

That's one that seems like it would be for bigger projects, yeah.

Well, and and even though I was on the other side of the ID issue earlier this evening, this is the kind of thing that makes me think that this is this could develop the the momentum that we need to help carry that kind of a thing forward.

So I'm I'm really pleased to see we're looking at this kind of thing.

Yeah, and I just appreciate the micro loan model.

I think it's gonna, I mean, that's just those some of those numbers on the race ethnicity numbers, and I hope that that can help bring more folks into the program to build off that, Counselor Norris.

Um, during the retail and RFP consultant, the number one thing that we heard is the newer businesses that are looking but can't afford the tenant improvements are restaurant and retail businesses.

Yeah, so this is kind of helping balance that as much as possible.

Right.

Um, one thing that I've heard from a variety of small businesses is how difficult it can be to negotiate terms for leases, and in many cases um proprietors will end up making a personal guarantee of a number of years, in some cases five years, in some cases as many as 10 years.

That sounds like a is that is that a problem that program like this could help with because what I consistently hear is businesses have a hard time finding space to grow and land is expensive and we have a lot of new construction, but then the cost per square foot is really high.

So I mean, this is addressing a different kind of need, it seems like.

Are there ideas for addressing that?

How do we make it easier for people to open businesses in these areas without making them personally liable for 10 years?

I mean, that's an interesting concept.

One of the things that that we talked about with the retail consultant is some sort of like borough slash city incubator space that has a little bit of square footage, like the grove, you know, like how does Borough or the city invest into like a shared community kitchen?

And that is something that we're looking at as a potential catalyst project through this whole entire process for the core area, but in terms of like directly subsidizing right out the bat of tenancy, we can help with property acquisition, long-term leasing is probably not a legal, legally allowed use of TIFF dollars.

Good question, though.

Yeah, I think one of the things I like about all this also is that being on the COIC board and hearing a lot about bear loan programs, and they have loan programs that work on this or their general operating and working capital needs for businesses that we can approve.

We've approved several loans in that category that aren't for equipment, maybe some equipment, but it's more about that just helping them with making it month to month and then get that snowball going and be successful and pairing this program with that program could really help businesses that have both of those needs, but without being accessing the capital for both, they may be less likely to be successful.

And that's you know the same concept of generally non-bankable, they've not been successful with the traditional lending market, and so they're coming to them to C UIC.

Yeah, so I'll uh piggyback off that one in addition to our you know the noted staffing concerns, the small business loan program.

We're looking at doing a third-party management of that.

So we're focusing more so on the micro loan and the pre-development loan that we do in-house, but the larger loans and the more I would say bigger portfolio, it would be staff's preference to contract that out or subsidize another loan fund with these dollars and then have that as a revolving.

So with CIC or COCC or some capacity.

Okay, great.

Thumbs up.

I think that's really great.

Great work.

Super comprehensive.

And that ends our meeting of the Bender Urban Renewal Agency.